Leo Schrade facts for kids

Leo Schrade (born December 13, 1903 – died September 21, 1964) was a famous musicologist. A musicologist is someone who studies music history and theory. Schrade was born in Germany but later became an American citizen. He was well-known for his important books and for organizing the music of old composers like Guillaume de Machaut and Francesco Landini. He even created a special numbering system for Machaut's music, which is still used today. Schrade also wrote a book about Claudio Monteverdi, called Monteverdi: Creator of Modern Music. This book was very important for understanding Monteverdi's role in the history of Western classical music.

Biography

Leo Schrade was born in a place called Allenstein, which was in East Prussia, Germany, back then. Today, this city is known as Olsztyn and is part of Poland.

Early Life and Education

From 1923, Schrade began studying musicology at several universities in Germany. He attended the University of Heidelberg, the University of Munich, and the University of Leipzig. He also took classes at the Mannheim Conservatory. One of his teachers was Adolf Sandberger, a respected music scholar.

In 1927, Schrade earned his doctorate degree from the University of Leipzig. A doctorate is the highest university degree you can get. After that, he started teaching musicology. First, he taught at the University of Königsberg, and then at the University of Bonn.

Schrade was very interested in early music, which means music from a long time ago. His doctorate paper was about old organ music. In 1929, he completed another important academic work, called a Habilitation, at the University of Königsberg. This work was about how early instrumental music was written down.

Moving to the United States

In the late 1930s, Leo Schrade left Germany and moved to the United States of America. In 1938, he became an assistant professor at Yale University. He quickly moved up, becoming an associate professor in 1943 and then a full professor of music history in 1948. While at Yale, he also directed the graduate studies program in music from 1939 to 1958.

Return to Europe and Later Work

In 1958, Schrade moved back to Europe. He took over from Jacques Handschin as a professor and director of the musicology institute at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He held these important positions until he passed away in 1964. He died in a town called Spéracèdes in France.

Important Contributions to Music

Leo Schrade's work is still very important for people who perform medieval music today. He created special collections of music by composers like Guillaume de Machaut and Francesco Landini. These collections are part of a series called Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century.

Schrade was also known for his broad view of music history. He didn't just study old music. He also worked on music by famous composers like Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart. His large study of the early opera composer Claudio Monteverdi, titled Monteverdi: Creator of Modern Music, is still a key book for understanding Monteverdi's music, even though some scholars still debate parts of it.

Schrade also started and edited several important music series. These included the Yale University Collegium Musicum series, which published old music for the first time. He also worked on the Yale Studies in the History of Music series. In addition, he helped edit several music journals, such as Journal of Renaissance and Baroque Music and Annales musicologiques.

See also

In Spanish: Leo Schrade para niños